Sea Ceptor, MBDA’s Next Generation Air Defence System Gets Go Ahead For Royal Navy Frigates

Sea Ceptor, MBDA’s Next Generation Air Defence System Gets Go Ahead For Royal Navy Frigates

Posted On
Tuesday, 31 January 2012 10:00

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Naval
Industry News - UK

Sea
Ceptor, MBDA’s Next Generation Air Defence System Gets Go Ahead
For Royal Navy Frigates

MBDA is pleased
to announce the award of the FLAADS (Future Local Area Air Defence
System) Demonstration Phase Contract by the Ministry of Defence. Under
this £483M contract, MBDA will develop the naval air defence
system, named SEA CEPTOR, to replace the Vertical Launch Seawolf currently
in service on the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates. Significantly,
SEA CEPTOR is also planned to be the principal air defence system
on the successor Type 26 Global Combat Ship.

SEA CEPTOR is the second major package of work launched under the
Portfolio Management Agreement (PMA) signed between MBDA and the UK
MoD in March 2010. Under this Agreement, MBDA has responsibility to
lead the transformation of the UK’s Complex Weapons (CW) capability
through the management of a portfolio of projects potentially worth
up to £4 billion over 10 years. SEA CEPTOR employs the core
principles of the PMA and is a major contributor to the financial
benefits of the portfolio approach, delivering some £1Billion
of efficiencies for the UK MOD.

Peter Luff - Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
- will visit MBDA staff at Filton today (Monday) to discuss the contract.
He said: “The development of this missile system is a huge boost
to the UK’s world-leading missile industry and once again proves
our commitment to providing battle winning technology to our Armed
Forces. The introduction of this cutting edge missile system will
not only ensure that the Royal Navy will be able to continue protecting
our interests wherever they may be, but is also highly significant
in sustaining and developing the UK’s skill in building complex
weapons.

MBDA SEA
CEPTOR, next generation Air Defence System
(Picture: MBDA)

Welcoming the announcement, Executive Group Director
Technical and UK Managing Director Steve Wadey said: “This contract
is important for a number of reasons. In the first instance it ensures
that with SEA CEPTOR the Royal Navy will have the best equipment to
protect its ships and crews against the growing threat. The contract
is also a powerful example of how industry and the MoD can deliver together
an advanced capability that meets military needs in the most cost-effective
manner. It is also a highly significant step in advancing and sustaining
the UK’s mastery of complex weapons technology. Importantly, SEA
CEPTOR, ideally suited to the Type 26 Global Combat Ship as well as
a wide range of other vessels, is highly relevant to a number of navies
around the world who are looking for a next generation naval air defence
system capable of countering the growing future anti-ship threat”.

SEA CEPTOR will protect both the host ship and high value units in the
local area with its capability to intercept and thereby neutralise the
full range of current and future threats including combat aircraft and
the new generation of supersonic anti-ship missiles. Capable of multiple
channels of fire, the system will also counter saturating attacks. Significantly,
with SEA CEPTOR this enhanced level of naval air defence will be provided
at lower in-service costs for the remaining life of the Type 23s. It
will enter service in the middle of the current decade after which it
is planned that it will equip the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global
Combat Ship as that replaces the Type 23 after 2020.

A key design driver behind SEA CEPTOR’s concept lies in its simple
integration philosophy. The system has been designed with the Global
Combat Ship specifically in mind, however, SEA CEPTOR can be easily
retrofitted into a wide range of platforms, ranging from 50m OPVs to
large surface vessels. The fact that the system will so easily replace
the Type 23’s existing air defence weapon is evidence of its modular
flexibility. Two main features provide this flexibility. SEA CEPTOR
is a “soft-launch” weapon which allows for a very compact
launch system that can be easily positioned in a number of below and
above deck locations. More significantly, as a highly accurate and responsive
system with missiles featuring precision guidance, SEA CEPTOR interfaces
with the ship’s existing surveillance radar and therefore does
not require the dedicated fire control radars on which semi-active systems
depend.

FLAADS is the name of the far-reaching MoD programme aimed at delivering
a new air defence system not only for the Royal Navy but also for the
British Army to replace its Rapier deployable air defence system. At
the heart of both systems (SEA CEPTOR for the Royal Navy and the future
CEPTOR-based land system for the British Army) is MBDA’s Common
Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM).